Changes in the law, taking place from 1 December 2016, mean that all applications for taxi and private hire car driver licences in the UK, including licence renewals, will now have to undergo immigration checks.
Council Leader Rhondda Geekie explained, “The change in legislation means that East Dunbartonshire licensing authority must, by law, ensure that all taxi and private hire car driver licence holders have the legal right to work in the UK. This applies to both new applicants and those applying for renewal of their licence.”
This means that existing taxi/private hire car driver licence holders making an application for renewal on or after 1st December 2016 will need to undergo an immigration check. Similarly, anyone making a new application on or after 1st December 2016 will also need to undergo an immigration check.
All applicants will be subject to the same checks at the beginning of the application process to ensure that they have a legal right to work in the UK and all licensing authorities across Scotland will be applying this legislation.
For those with no restriction on the right to work, (for example, British citizens or those with current Biometric Immigration Documents indicating they are allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK), an immigration check should be straightforward. They will need to show their original British passport or current Biometric Immigration Document with their application. Those with a restriction on the right to work in the UK will need to show original documentation confirming their rights and restrictions.
Councillor Geekie continued, “We are raising awareness of this change in law and the new checks that we have to undertake. We would encourage all those making new applications or seeking to renew their licence on or after 1 December to find out what documentation they now need to show. We have updated our application forms to include lists of the documents now required, and further information is available from Customer Services at our Community Hubs or on 0300 123 4510.”
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